DPA
Phnom Penh - The United Nations' human rights envoy to Cambodia highlighted freedom of expression issues and concerns about land rights as he wrapped up his visit to Cambodia Thursday.
'Peaceful expression of opinion should not be dealt with under the penal code as is currently the case with crimes such as defamation,' UN envoy Surya Subedi said of the government's efforts to use the courts to punish its perceived critics in politics, media and civil society.
Subedi said those in public positions should be willing to accept criticism, adding that he was 'concerned about the narrowing of space for people to express their views peacefully and without fear.'
'Criticism is not a crime but an exercise of freedom of conscience, an act of intelligence,' he said at the close of his fourth visit.
He also dismissed the government's claim this week that it had decriminalized defamation, saying people could still be fined for speaking their mind, and could be jailed if they refused to pay that fine.
Subedi was in Cambodia on a 10-day visit to assess how effectively parliament upholds human rights in the context of his assessment of institutions deemed 'critical to the promotion and protection of human rights.'
He did praise government efforts to improve the framework around the way land issues were dealt with, and said he was encouraged by the response he had received to a number of issues.
During his stay, Subedi met with government officials, parliamentarians, civil society representatives and donors.
Phnom Penh has long had a rocky relationship with human rights groups.
Last year, Prime Minister Hun Sen said he wanted the UN human rights office in Cambodia to close, and its country head, Christophe Peschoux, fired. A senior government minister described Peschoux as a 'mouthpiece for the opposition.'
A native of Nepal and a British-trained lawyer, Subedi is mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to report on human rights in Cambodia.
He submitted his last report to the body in September in which he recommended numerous reforms to the country's judiciary. He said Thursday that he would have preferred better cooperation from Phnom Penh in implementing those reforms.
6 comments:
There is freedom of expression in Cambodia as long as you don't say anything, especially against the dictator and his gangsters.
AH HUN SEN AH KBORT JEAT KAGN JAEH YOUN
AH HUN SEN AH KBORT JEAT KAGN JAEH YOUN
AH HUN SEN AH KBORT JEAT KAGN JAEH YOUN
AH HUN SEN AH KBORT JEAT KAGN JAEH YOUN
AH HUN SEN AH KBORT JEAT KAGN JAEH YOUN
AH HUN SEN AH KBORT JEAT KAGN JAEH YOUN
kon kmeng naek srae
SenVarman ain't human being, therefore he ain't literally have conscience!
UN focus too much on cambodia, they should turn their attention to the recent siem issue and go to vietnam for investigation of human rights abuse there, especially in khmer krom region of the mekong delta area, really! stop picking only on cambodia! cambodian gov't is doing a good job so far. god bless cambodia.
well, i think criticking public official is one thing, but attacking a person's god given character is defamation. there ought to be a line drawn between constructive criticism and personal attack, really! i think often, people mixed the two together to make cambodia look all like abusing human rights, abusing freedom of speech, etc. one has to know the truth of the allegation before jumping blindly to a wrong conclusion, you know! there are rules and regulations to be observed, too, you know. there's a fine line to be had, here, really! that's why cambodia encouraged more field work like grassroot investigation, etc, not just buying into hearsay from biased group like opposition and so forth, ok! cambodia today is not really the same as say 30 or 20 or 10 years ago, really! please be educated and keep up with changes, etc. khmer people from all walks of life love their freedom as much as anybody else on this planet, you know. please be fair to cambodia and try to see what is lacking and what needs to be improved, etc...
what kind of freedom is that calling someone one eyed, hyena, dog, cat, private parts, etc, without respect to position, privilege, etc! you tell me! imagine you are the president of the USA, and some hardcore people go up to your face and call you negro, etc, can you have patient? same concept here in cambodia, you see!
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